001Thank you, sir. Our regular September board of education meeting. I would note that we have two empty chairs here because of a commitment that they had made several months ago with their family. And so Joe and Con are both out this evening, but normally are here. And those of you that regularly attend, you know that that they're always here. So, we're glad they could spend some time with their family. Uh we've already adopted an agenda and the first item on that is an invocation. So, would you join me with me? Dear God, we're thankful that we have a day that we can come together with the representation from this community to discuss the business of schools for Davy County. Uh we ask that you would impart wisdom for those decisions that we need to make.
002Guide us. Help us that we might have a childlike attitude in our decisions and that we would do what's best for our staff and what's best for our children. I ask this in your name. Amen. Okay. Would you join me in the pledge of allegiance, please? >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you, >> board. You've received a copy of the minutes from our August meeting, August 5th. Um, I would ask if there's a motion to accept those minutes as presented. Jeff makes a motion to accept. Second. Stephanie makes second. Any corrections or comments regarding the minutes? If not, all in favor, show of hands. Motion carries. 50.
003Uh you'll notice that we have some uh important dates on our calendars and I just want to remind us that anytime we get that opportunity to visit in schools uh we've been very conscious of trying to do that and those opportunities are coming up in September. Um many of you have already signed up for multiple days and we certainly understand that everybody in here is not retired. Uh so your schedule sometimes can't be quite as flexible as as as those of us who are retired. So uh thank you for taking time away from your personal jobs to to visit when you can. And I'm sure our schools like to know that we're involved and we'd like to see what what is good that is happening. And so we want we want you to feel like
004we can make uh as many meetings as possible. Uh, Mr. Superintendent, you've opened your first school as superintendent, first school year as superintendent. So, we're excited to hear about that. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. And certainly, um, welcome back to all of our students on behalf of our 815 full-time employees and nearly 6,100 students. I am happy and pleased to say that we had a great opening last week and just appreciate all the effort in making that happen and I'm really excited about all the extraordinary moments that we have ahead of us for this school year. You may not have known this, but um leading up to the opening of school, we had some professional development. Over 35 professional development opportunities were presented to our staff as they prepared for opening. So um that was
005something to celebrate. of course the the opening convocation always an exciting time. I appreciate um the board support and attendance with that and of course just the inspirational message that came out of that as we continue to move forward with living out our district's values and our purposes for the upcoming year. So a great opening. We um just some things to highlight um for you today. Today the um NCDPI they are meeting tomorrow to release um officially the end of year and end of course test results from last year. So that will be publicly available this week and of course as part of that we are excited um to also um report out the success that we had in Davy County and then in October you'll have a full update uh regarding those results um
006for you to review as well. the the early college um early college high school their year began um obviously a few weeks ago and I'm I'm happy to say that they have over 140 students enrolled that's the among some of the largest total enrollment over the last four years and a a freshman class of 43 students continuing to grow their extracurricular clubs I'm offering many new clubs and so we're really excited for some of the work that they're doing and then in the coming um weeks they'll be starting their outreach trips um all across Ross the county. So we look forward to what they're doing over there. We are, as you know, um starting the school year um in pretty good shape with staffing. We are, I would estimate, around 96% staffed. Most of the
007positions are still some instructional assistance in our exceptional children's program. We do have um some some bus drivers we're still looking for and some classified positions, but um obviously it it es and flows throughout the year, but um we are still continuing always to uh recruit and hire quality um staff. So if you know anybody that's looking for a job, obviously monitor the job board on our website. We also um I'm I'm happy to announce that we continue our partnership with UNCC Greensboro for a principal preparation program that's called Peers. And part of that program provides teachers with an opportunity to do a year-long internship. And so I'm uh pleased that Katherine Shepard is completing her internship at Will William Ellis Middle School and Joey Davis at Kulin Elementary. and this is one of the
008final steps that they take in in obtaining their masters of school administration principal's license. So, we're um happy about the work they're doing and and the support they're providing those schools as well. We have had um obviously when you open school, the traffic's really heavy at this time of year and so we appreciate everybody's patience and the work of our transportation department and our principal and our assistant principal and getting our bus routes and assignments in place. Just a reminder to parents that you can monitor um where your bus is at using the where's the bus parent app so that you can know where those assigned bus stops are at and then how you can kind of track when they're getting off the school bus. We've also installed um cameras in all of our driver's
009education cars as an added layer of safety as well. So I'm pleased with some of the work that's that's been going on there. Um an update with our summer feeding as we wrap that up on August 14th. We had we served our child our uh child nutrition department served 59,700 meals over the summer. So we again appreciate all of their work and making that happen. Our technology department um when you when you hear about some of the things that they're doing obviously we know about a lot of the infrastructure that they process. For example, over 6,000 Chromebooks getting set up and started for the school year and de decommissioning outdated computer labs and repurposing those for instructional space. But they also do a lot of instructional work as well and helping us get access and
010our students have access to Google Classroom for example and classroom dojo in our elementary schools that have been um an added instructional tool. Um looking at AI tools in high school, Gemini and Copilot are a couple of examples that they've been um helping pilot across the district. Um using password ownership and security for our our students in grades 6 through 12 where they have their own personal password. So there's a lot of work that goes beyond just the the network structuring and installation of of core switches and all of those things. There's also a lot of work that they do to add the instructional elements. And we appreciate all of their work. And of course sometimes behind the scenes, not only trans not only do we think about technology, but our school nurses. And so
011they have compiled some data from last school year. And there's the seven full-time nurses that serve our when you hear some of these numbers, it's staggering. 18,275 individual health encounters all school last year. So that's a a lot of um encounters with students to help them. 93% of those resulted in the child um receiving care and then returning to the classroom instead of going home. So you think about when we talk about attendance and how important that is and the role that school nurses play in helping students um get back to class and not have to miss a day um because of of an illness. They conducted 337 individual health counseling sessions with students and their families and presented over 70 health education programs. And not only do our students benefit from that, but oftentimes
012if a if a teacher isn't feeling feeling well or a staff member, they had 378 visits from staff members that were able to go in for a variety of needs. And this includes a lot of different specific um programs and services, diabetes, vision screening, u medication administration, and even the Novant Health mobile mam mammogram unit that they're able to coordinate and provide as a service to our staff and employees. So, a lot of great work coming from our school nurses. I will wrap up and conclude with some legislative updates. Um, one thing that is really exciting that I think we cannot get this word out enough is the NC College Connect program. Last year, this program um had six colleges and some community colleges that participated. It has now expanded to over 40 institutions um
013including all of our community colleges across the state. And what the NC College Connect program does is it um seniors can get automatic admission into a UNCC college that's part of this program using a um a much more efficient screening process, application process, and um are guaranteed admission if they meet a certain GPA requirement. So, high school juniors and seniors, they get a letter that comes from the NC College Connect program that they have been automatically admitted and then they can go on and and apply using that specific program. Our guidance counselors at the high school have that information and I encourage if you parents if you get contacted or your child gets an email about the NC College Connect program, it is legit. So, reach out to your guidance counselor to learn more. I
014will say um some not all not all of the universities are part of this but AppState is one that is and ECU. So there's a lot of of colleges that guarantee admission if they meet those GPA requirements. The final announcement I will have is the state board of education has approved a new five-year strategic plan achieving educational excellence. That plan is based on eight pillars um that aim to position North Carolina public schools as the best in the United States by 2030. And of course, part of that here in Davyy County, we will also be updating our strategic plan um this school year. So, we'll be looking forward to that process and getting input from all of our stakeholders. With that said, Mr. Chairman, I think that is all that I have. >> Thank you
015very much. It never ceases to amaze me of when you talk about all the things that happen during the summer to get ready from uh beautiful clean shiny floors to serving all these meals and there's just so much technology staff development activities. Lots going on and then we get to pay attention to the the fact that we can help our students better because of these things that are going on. So, thank you so much for all those who work behind the scenes. Thank you, Superintendent Belchure, for that report. >> Mr. Pots, can I say something? I just wanted to um say I I wanted to kind of give a kudos to Mr. Sam Brown when you pointed out the early college. That's really incredible. And I He's the principal over there. I don't know if
016Sam is in the crowd tonight. There's a lot of people, but to have not only the highest total number of kids ever, but also the largest freshman incoming class. if you see him work with the kids, his optimism, his energy, his leadership is awesome. So, that is a really cool achievement. I'm so glad to hear that from this year. So, I just wanted to call that out and congratulate him on that. >> Thank you so much. Is there either of those two folks that's going to be principal candidates? Either of them here? >> No, I don't. >> Okay. All right. Okay. Next is our uh fun portion of the of the meeting is to recognize students and staff who have accomplished a great deal since uh last school year began. And the first one was
017recognizing Mr. Klay Harris. And Dr. Beltry, you have that privilege. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and board. So, I do have the honor of recognizing u Mr. Klay Harris and the business and finance team. So the government finance officers association established the certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting program in 1945 to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare annual comprehensive financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. The goal of the program is not to assess the financial health of participating governments, but rather to ensure that users of their financial statements have the information they need to do so themselves. Mr. Klay Harris and his finance team
018once again have achieved excellence in financial reporting. And so on behalf of Davy County Schools and the citizens of Davyy County, thank you for your outstanding work in leading the financial and business affairs of the school district. And congratulations [Applause] You have a speech profession. [Laughter] >> Congratulations, Clay. We're proud of you. >> Okay, next That's right. That's true, too. Yes. Thank you. The Davy County High School Future Farmers of America rec uh recognitions. Uh you got it, guys. Thank you so much for being here. >> All right. The mission of the FFA is to promote premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. This year has been an exciting one for Davy County FFA. We've had a lot of accomplishments. We had over 75 students participate in dairy and livestock projects across the board. Uh
019our chapter has harvested over 300 lbs of honey. And we're also proud to announce that um our chapter earned a three-star national chapter award, the highest level of achievement an FFA chapter can receive. My name's Jesse Led Better and I teach animal science and agriculture mechanics. While our county no longer has dairy farms, our students continue to excel in the field. We're proud to share that our dairy judging team earned first place in the state and will represent North Carolina in the National FFA Convention in India in October. This marks the first time any Davy County FFA team has advanced to compete at a national level and is a true testament to the hard work, dedication, and excellence of our students. If our dairy team will come on up, we'll recognize them. Caitlyn Nicholson, she's
020not here with us. Come on up, guys. And Aubryy's not here, but we have Llaya Sat and Michaela Vanir. Congratulations. [Applause] We're also equally proud to recognize our agricultural mechanics team who earned top honors in our regional competition at Katabi Valley Community College showcasing their skills in welding, electrical work, and applied mathematics. Those team members consist of Matt Ramsey, Ty Anderson, Cole Anderson, and Lock and Holton. [Applause] Our two it tool ID team also placed high in the region placing third. Those members consisted of Emma Bishop, Connor Matthysse, Cole Whitaker, and Gavin Weissar. [Applause] Davy County is honored to celebrate these accomplishments and look forward to building this momentum ahead in this year. I have a few more students that uh also a lot of these names you hear over and over again which I
021think is a testament to just how well-rounded these students are and you know we can put them up to just about anything and they they can do it. Uh which which makes us proud as advisers and teachers. Um so we'll recognize a few more. We also had the reserve state champion livestock judging team. Uh that was Michaela Van Meter, Caitlyn Nicholson who's at NC State right now, Aubrey Barnhart, and Kira Verky. You go, [Applause] our meat judging team, they competed at the state level as well. Um there were over 50 teams that showed up for that competition. Uh they placed third. uh they had to identify over 200 cuts of uh meat ID and then uh place several classes on that. So those were Riley Barnes, Caitlyn Nicholson, Matt Ramsey, and Kelsey Nicholson. [Applause] All
022right. And on the horiculture side of things, we had two teams that uh placed really well at the regional level and were able to compete at the state level. And the horiculture team, they identified over 80 plants um and then took a general knowledge exam. So that team consisted of Mia Clemo, Brody Willard, Natalie Rosensteel, and Emma TR. [Applause] Then our last team to be recognized, placed first place at the regional competition as well. Um, and this was the floor culture team. They also identified uh over a hundred plants, had to tie some bows and do some flower vases and did an exceptional job doing that. And that team consisted of Gavin Horton, Mallerie Peek, Lillian Reagan, and Lilianne Simmons. [Applause] And we just like to thank the board and uh Dr. Belchure for all
023your support throughout the year. We we stay busy through the summer and uh throughout the school year. So, we appreciate you taking time tonight to recognize these students and their hard work. Thank you. Absolutely. And if you' have told me 10 years ago that we'd had this kind of representation from FFA, I would have thought you don't know what you're talking about. But you guys have allowed Davy County schools to turn the corner and you proudly wear those jackets and I'm proud of you. And this board is proud of you, too. Good job. >> Good evening. Uh my name is Elise Waldridge and I have Linda Robinson from Apprenticeship North Carolina and several of our EMS partners today. Um I'm excited to be here tonight to recognize several trailblazers in our community. Uh these trailblazers
024are representing Davy County schools and Davy County as a community. During the 2425 school year, we had uh four students that completed pre-apprenticeships. And these pre-apprenticeships are the first of their kind um for Davy County schools and our community. And by completing these pre-apprenticeships, they are able to continue on their education tuition free through an apprenticeship program. Um we are here to honor uh three students who completed the pre-apprenticeship and early childhood education for Davy County Schools and one student who completed an emergency medical technician pre-apprenticeship. Through our work with Apprenticeship North Carolina over the past year, Davy County Schools has become an employer for apprenticeships through Davidson Davy Community College. This partnership will allow Davy County Schools to start growing our own. I would like to recognize the following students for completing a pre-apprenticeship
025in early childhood education. Stella Fry Alice Rucker and then Zoe still was unable to be here tonight [Applause] working through the early childhood education pre-apprenticeship process opened up another door last year for us. We were able to partner with Davy County EMS to create an emergency medical technician pre-apprenticeship and I would like to recognize Katie Lewis on her su successful completion. Katie is now employed with Davy County EMS and continuing her education to become a paramedic. I appreciate Joseph Ashburn and Davy County EMS for jumping on board to create this opportunity. [Applause] We appreciate the students hard work and our app our partnerships with apprenticeship North Carolina DDCC and the Davy County EMS to begin these opportunities for Davy County schools and our community. I would like to personally thank Linda Robinson from apprenticeship NC
026for her guidance. We met this morning to begin the process of creating a transportation pre-apprenticeship for Davy County schools and creating a fire option for Moxville Fire Department. These students being recognized tonight will have a lasting impact on Davy County schools and Davy County. Thank you for being trailblazers and congratulations for completing your pre-apprenticeship. [Applause] Our last recognition of the evening, Don Lowry. Hello. I'm Shannon Patton. I'm secondary math coach for Davy County Schools. And this is Adrien Blackwelder, who is our K12 math coach lead. And we have the um honor of honoring one of our math teachers here in the county. Each year, school principles in North Carolina schools are encouraged by the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics, or NCCTM, to nominate the teacher they believe does the most effective job teaching
027mathematics in their school. From those nominated, each school district may then select one mathematics teacher to represent the best in mathematics teaching from the entire system. The grade level cycles each year, and so 6th through 12th grade mathematics teachers were eligible this year. Davy County School's outstanding mathematics teacher for the 2526 school year is Don Lowry, sixth grade mathematics teacher at North Davy Middle School. [Applause] As Davy County Schools recipient, Mrs. Lowry receives a one-year membership in NCCTM, recognition at the state conference in November, and a special moment of the occasion when she is there. In his nomination, Mrs. Lowry's principal shared the following. Mrs. Lowry consistently improves upon instruction and student learning while servicing as while serving as both a team player and an instructional leader on campus. She sets clear learning goals, uses
028formative assessments, and empowers students to track their progress, increasing ownership and motivation. Her lessons promote collaboration, critical thinking, and academic discourse, leading to deeper understanding of math concepts. As a leader on her PLT, she models effective strategies, supports colleagues, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement. Her student- centered approach, collaborative spirit, and dedication to excellence make her an invaluable asset to both her students and the school community. As her math coach, I must say that Mrs. Lowry has some of the best mathematics discourse occurring in her classroom that I've seen anywhere. And I appreciate her willingness both to assist me um when I have questions and to unofficially mentor other teachers across the district, not just in her school. As a parent also of three children who were lucky enough to begin their middle school
029years in Mrs. Lowry's mathematics classroom, I want to express how grateful our whole community is to have her at North Davy and in Davy County schools. [Applause] And we understand that we're have a school night and those of you that are here primarily for recognition, please please don't feel guilty about getting up and leaving at this point if you would choose to. Everybody. Okay, board. Next item on our agenda is their consent agenda. You've received the information on each of the items. So, I would ask your consideration to approve the consent agenda as presented. Is there a motion? Marie makes a motion to accept the consent agenda. Stephanie makes a a second. Any questions regarding anything on the the uh consent agenda and there are a number of policy updates on there which we've had
030for five weeks, I guess. So, for your nighttime reading, I'm sure you've enjoyed Forgive me, Lord. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Is all in favor? Motion carries. 50. First business item, KMY Elementary and Mox Elementary roofing projects. And Jeremy Whitaker is here to present that. Good evening, Chairman Pots, board members, Superintendent Belchure, staff and guest. Davy County Schools worked with Trimco to receive quotes on replacing the EPDM roofing at both Kulami Elementary and Moswell Elementary Schools. We received three bids. The attached is the bid sheet. We recommend using Galahare Management Group to perform the this project in the amount of $287,690. Okay. Heard a motion, a recommendation, I'm sorry, from Mr. Whitaker regarding putting an EPDM roofing. Are we replacing the EPDM or is it PTO? This will be a cotton that
031goes over the top of it just like we did the Julia Sudter building. >> Okay. >> Motion to accept his recommendation of approving say the name of the company again. >> Yes. The Gallagher management approved the same company that did the Julia Sud building. >> Okay. Motion to accept the recommendation. Jeff motions second. Michael second. Any question for Mr. Whitaker? If not, all in favor? Motion approves. 5. Jeremy, what does that cost per square foot to do that >> approximately? >> I know it's a 20-year roof warranty. Um, I don't have the cost per square foot in front of me. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Dr. Belchure. Item 8.2, the policy 6127. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, the um school nurses brought the policy 6127 for the epinephrine delivery system update. Um typically, this policy
032has related to auto injection for the as the delivery method. Now, some of our students are prescribed nasal sprays and so there is a recommendation just to update this policy to allow um a variety of delivery systems um for the epinephrine in the future. >> Okay. Recommendation by the superintendent to approve the policy 6127. Is there a motion to that effect? Motion. Stephanie, would you second? All right. Any questions to Dr. Belure regarding this policy? All in favor? Show of hands. Motion carries. 50. Thank you, sir. And you're to continue on with the Davy Davidson partnership agreement. >> Yes, sir. board. You have in front of you the memorandum of understanding um for as part of the college or the career and college promise with um Davidson Davyy Community College. This is just an annualou
033that we sign off on and submit to the state. Uh this we are one of three districts that have the memorandum of understanding in place that just relates to that program and the roles and responsibilities that each party plays within the CCP program. Okay. His recommendation is to approve the item for um an agreement with the community college. Is there a motion to that effect? Jeff makes a motion. Second makes a second. Questions for Dr. Belchure. >> Dr. Belure, I have a quick question on that. Is does anything ever change in this from year to year >> or is it pretty standard? >> Typically not unless something changes with legislation. So, for example, um this year the legislaturator's updated the contact that a um that with a student and with a student's parents or families
034um as part of that and so there may be some language that just reflects that legislative change in it, but typically it's pretty standard and pretty routine. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Any other questions? Have a motion and a second. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. Item 8.4. Uh each two years there's an opportunity for school boards across the state to nominate a candidate to be on the board of directors for the North Carolina North Carolina School Board Association which is an organization that we prescribe to. As you know we get many of our policy recommendations from them and so forth. Uh, I would like to recommend that we approve Marie Helms. She has indicated she is willing to serve. And just because we approve her, I would remind you that um the
035state board association actually makes a final call. And our obligation would be to have her approved by this by the full board and to send a letter of recommendation which Dr. Belchure and I'll work on getting that out before there's a certain date that that we've got to have it out, but it's soon. So, uh, is there a motion? I guess I'm making a motion on I'm making a motion to accept Marie as the uh candidate. Is there a second to to my motion? Stephanie seconds my motion. Any questions or concerns? Better not be right. >> You speak now. All in favor? Thank you. Motion carries finally. Thank you for being willing to serve. It's a It's a time commitment and we appreciate you doing that. Staff and committee reports. Mary Foster has the first
036one on our U safety standard protocol. >> Good evening. Um if I hit this will Yes, there we go. Good evening, Chairman Pototts and board members. Um, tonight I am just going to give a quick update on some things um that we are working on this school year from the safety realm. Um, so the first is the standard response protocol. We are implementing that in all of our schools. Uh, that gives us some common verbiage around schoolwide crisis events that gets shared with staff, students, parents, um, and law enforcement. Most of our surrounding districts also use the same protocol. So, if any of their law enforcement agencies needed to respond to one of our schools, we're all using the same vocabulary. Um, the the I Love You guys Foundation developed the protocol. Um, and it
037is to promote school safety and it is based on what has been learned in tragic events in the past. Um, and they do update based on what they learned from other tragic events. Um, so the protocol consists of five actions. Each action is al also announced with a directive. For instance, hold in your classroom or area is announced. Not just the word, but also a directive. Um, for lockdown, it's a lockdown locks lights out of sight. So, there's an action always with those um the action plus the directive. Um, the I Love You guys Foundation website gives lots of materials for schools to be able to use, including videos specifically for students to teach students how to execute each of the actions and why they're important. Um and one of the foundational principles um that
038was really appealing about this protocol is that everyone is responsible for school safety, all staff, all students. And so having everybody trained and understand all of the actions is very important. Um look out for the posters. Um they should be in classrooms and hallways as you visit visit schools. Um we are continuing to use the open gate weapons detection system as students enter the building. Um that has to alternate at the elementary schools with one system but at least two entrances at the elementary level. Um visitors during the school day are also screened and our large athletic events are using the system as well. The clear bag policy is in effect um for all athletic events. then large parent events and things like arts performances and awards ceremonies. Our staff um we started this last
039year. We have access to the Rave Panic Button app on their cell phones. Um we recently coordinated with the 911 communications um department uh to do a a test in drill mode that worked. Um, so we're going to be working on how schools should be drilling and using that just to verify that the signals are received as planned. Um, and then over the next month, we will be putting in place the say something anonymous reporting system. Um, this is a reporting system that anyone can report concerns about safety through a website, a phone app, or a phone number. Um, and then they coordinate not only with law enforcement but with the school level to make sure that those safety concerns are addressed. So, there's some updates and I'll be happy to take any questions. >>
040See the high school principles here. How did the the entrance go Friday night? Were you pleased or Friday a week ago? Good, >> Miss Foster. Thank Can I just say absolutely. >> So, thank you so much for doing this. I was able to look at the i loveyouu.org site and it is really comprehensive. If you if the board hasn't had a chance to look at it, I would just take it looks really great and the amount of schools that have used it. Like I said, it's really exciting that we're going to be a part of that now, too. Um, and I just want to say just in a how two and a half years, I don't how long I've been on the board, just the amount of safety and stuff that we've done in the
041school system has been incredible. Um, the clear bags, the open gate, the panic buttons, the I love you guys.org, the anonymous reporting. I mean, I love all the layers. We talked about that at one point. You can't do anything to stop everything, but you can have as many layers as possible. So, kudos and thank you for putting the time into this because I think it's really important and it's great to see. Thank you, >> Mr. Chair. As a point of personal privilege, if I could just also express my appreciation to Miss Foster. It's great that she's she's still in a school site, so she's closely connected to this work, and I know that the principles and assistant principles really appreciate that because she understands and knows kind of what that looks like in the day-to-day
042operations. It's really important. That's kind of unique. Also want to express our appreciation um to Miss Kuster and helping facilitate some of this as well with student services because it takes a whole team. and um just really again want to express the the great privilege it is to have a strong working relationship with the sheriff's department and our SR SRO's as well to make this kind of work possible. I'm learning that that's that's unique and that's not the case in all school systems. So, we are very fortunate that we have that that relationship and um the work that that makes this kind of work when a when a crisis or if a crisis does occur um able to respond in an appropriate way. >> We'll see. >> Any other comments? All right. Thank you very
043much for all you're doing. >> Thank you. >> It's good that the sheriff's department's had your backside there, too. Okay. And Jen has an update on the summer program programs, I guess I should say. >> All right. Good evening. Um, I do want to share with you and I'll have several several folks. >> I thought they were walking out on you. >> No, they're joining me, not walking out. So, um, good evening board members, staff, and guests. We want to provide you with some information on the great instructional programs that happened over the summer. Keep going. Okay. Thanks. All right. Okay. So, I'm gonna start with the right one. Come on up. I want to talk. All right. So, I'm going to start though with an overview. So, um I'm going to start with the
044fact that we had several camps. We had Read to Achieve Camp um with our rising third and fourth grade. We had Camp Discovery with our rising fifth and sixth grade. Um, and then we had steam boot camp with our rising ninth graders. We also had an exceptional children's camp with K12 and we had uh multiple student internships that Miss Waldridge has already spoken about. We had a total of 38 um staff members and 157 students. Um, also had kinder camps and so we've been very fortunate um to have six school-based kinder camps. Um and those had we had 142 students and we had two to three staff members at each of our elementary schools for this. Um we the Meban Foundation, you know, they have been very very um we've been very blessed to have
045them and they continue to support our kinder camps. Um we do have one to two representatives from each of these programs and they're going to come up and share. >> Good evening. I'm Laura Martin and I was the coordinator for Camp Discovery this summer. Um, this was actually our third summer of holding this AIG camp which is for rising fifth and sixth graders. Um, this summer we really focused on STEM tools and um, STEM jobs. So, you can see right here some kids working hard with some robots and getting them to do some different tasks. Um, so we had it for two different weeks this summer, eight days at the high school. Um, >> they're not linked. >> Okay. This is what they mean when they say we're having technical difficulties. You can go from
046there. talked about earlier. >> You want to go up and down with the arrows down here. go down to. There we go. All right. So, there were our two two weeks, our eight days. Um, we actually did a shorter day this year, which seemed to go really well. It was open to all rising fifth and sixth graders that are identified as um AG, but we had 54 students who were able to attend and actually had a few kids that wanted to attend and it didn't we had had a a short weight list this year. Um, there were three teachers and then myself. So you can see we had elementary and middle school represented with the teachers. Um the teams were divided in the students were divided into three teams where they learned about different tools
047and uh careers. You can see they learned with the robots. We did 3D printing and um the kids learned how to use Tinkercad a little bit which um the high school teachers were actually kind of excited about. Um, so we also had a STEM engineering challenge where they were building a spaghetti bridge and seeing how much that could hold. Uh, we had a great presentation by um, the Mad Scientists. And then um, the Advance Fire Department came and did a demonstration for the campers um, about drones. This was a huge hit, the way that they flew them around and we were at the high school and they were showing us stuff that was going on at cars over at North Davyy. Um, so it's just really a a unique experience for the campers to see
048that. Um, so here's just some more pictures of these kids working hard. Here they are with the mad scientist working hard here in um, the spaghetti building doing some research on the computers. And here they are again out in the hallway working with those robots trying to complete those tasks that we set before them. Um we are very thankful that the ME Foundation um funded this or helped to fund this. Um this year we did um ask that campers um have an investment in it as well which I think was good. Um we did have scholarships but this was really wellreceived and the kids had a great time this summer. Good evening. I am Stephanie Golding, science teacher at Davy County High School. And I was able to help with the STEAM boot camp. So,
049this was also two weeks. It was eight days total, so four days each week um at the high school and it was for rising ninth graders. Um if I understand correctly, the grant came in sort of at the last minute. So, this was put together the best that it could and I think we had a lot of fun. Um so, we had 20 students total for um the between the two weeks. So, seven students the first week and then 13 students the second week. Three teachers. So, Mr. Miner with robotics, uh, Amanda Streetman with art, and then myself with science. And the students were completing two different hands-on activities. So, we definitely did not want students sitting. Um, we wanted them up and moving. Um, and they were primarily working Monday through Wednesday mornings between
050about 8:30 and 11:45. Um, activities were different each day, so they didn't know what to expect. Um lunch was at 11:45 and then after lunch we wanted the students to get acclimated to Davyy. So we gave them scavenger hunts where they could walk around the school um and they could explore. Uh we were guiding them in the beginning and then we kind of let them loose and they they said wow this is a big school. And we were like yeah we know it is a big school. Um on Thursday Missman she took the whole day and she did a barn quilt art activity with them. um and they were able to incorporate um art, history, and math with that activity. Um and I was in there sort of helping with the process and it was
051a really cool activity for the students. So with some of our science activities, we were able to do a synthetic piranha dissection, which was um really it was really hands-on and it was um very similar to how a real dissection would go um except we can use this again. So, we bought these kits and then we can use them again in the future. Um, I think each kit can be used three times. Um, they were able to do a textbook tower build with um, Mr. Miner and so they were uh, they had a big stack of textbooks and they were trying to see um, how many they could only use paper I believe um, to create a bridge and they had to put the textbooks on the bridge and see uh, which design would work
052the best. I think um one group I think they got 16 textbooks on these little pieces of paper. So that was very impressive. Uh we had windmill generator kits. We had solar cars. Um pocket microscopes that just use batteries and they're about this big. Um the students were able to go outside and we were able to pick up a few things that we saw and then look at it under the microscopes. And those microscopes actually they work decently well. Um so we could actually talk about some of the cells that make up those uh organisms that they were looking at. and they were able to work through a marble build uh with Mr. Miner and then we um I know myself and Mr. Miner and Miss Streetman, she was pretty busy with the art activity.
053Um but we were working through some high school basics with the students to help them uh transition to high school. So we, you know, whenever they first get to school, where do they go? So they go to the cafeteria. Uh we talked about what flex time is and how they could use that. So just some basic things they could see um how to kind of navigate through the school. So here's some pictures of some of the activities they were doing. And I think in the bottom left there is that uh there's I think there's at least 16 textbooks. So that group they did a really good job with that. Um down here in the middle those are the solar cars. So of course the students had to race them. So they kind of had a
054start line and a finish line. And then we have some dissections up here. And then our solar windmills over here on the side. Um, and we were actually able to use a gigantic fan um to get the windmills to move and it would turn a light on if they did it correctly. Um, so that was fun. And then a few more pictures so you could see their um some of their designs and then them using the pocket microscopes. And then this was their barn quilt activity that they did. Um, and each student, uh, they had the same set of instructions, but they created totally different, uh, creations because they could, you know, do some variations with it. So, it was really cool to see their personality come out with that. Okay. Thank you. We'll go
055back to the good evening everybody. I am Tracy Welch, assistant principal at William R. I'm Sharon Beach. I'm the assistant principal at Canancer Elementary >> and we had the honor of leading reach to Achieve camp this summer. And I do want to mention that typically you would hear from Christy Cornancer as she is presenting this. She had some health issues and so she lined us up beautifully to continue the great work that she does. So we owe her a big thank you. Um as we hope to convey to you guys tonight, we have so much fun at this camp. We, you know, it's kind of hard to convince rising third and fourth graders to come to camp in the summer and to do fun things, but we try to bring a science focus to it.
056So, our rising um third graders are working on the skeletal system. Our rising fourth graders are working on rocks and minerals and that sort of thing. And we love that. What other place can you hear as car riders are leaving, don't forget your lungs, or um you know the the high school interns, hey, tomorrow's tutu day. And then one of my favorites was Miss Veum and I overheard the first week we had a student who was not able to come the first week of camp. So when he came at the end of the week he was a little teary and we walked him to his classroom and we heard one of his buddies look at him and say, "Listen, all we do is play games one game after the other, but she says we're learning."
057So um we we hope to just present to you tonight kind of what that looks like. So this camp run for about four weeks this summer. Um, it was held at Knoxville Elementary. Like Tracy said, we had rising third and fourth grade students from all elementary schools. We had educators from seven different schools that came and collaborated and worked together. We also had a handful of high school interns and then recently graduated interns um who made our days fun. We did our first ever Tik Toks. It we feel a little famous >> after hours. >> So just walking through a day at camp. We started every day with a morning meeting which is when we would check in with students social emotional status. Um they were provided with instruction in reading and writing with a
058heavy science integration. Um as Tracy said, third grade focused on the human body. Rising fourth graders focused on rocks and minerals. We had some small group reading reading intervention targeted to each student's reading needs. And then through those three subjects at the bottom, we reinforced what they were learning in reading and science. So, for example, rising fourth graders were working on learning rocks and minerals. So, they learned the different types of rocks in class. And then when they went to steam, they used a Snickers bar to look at what a sedimentary rock might look like. They melted a Snickers bar to talk about metamorphic rocks. Then in art, they learned how to draw 3D crystals. And they also had an opportunity to use science kits that let them hold rocks, classify rocks, and look at
059them and examine them that way. We had an average of 55 students every day. Um at the end of the camp, we had nine rising fourth grade students meet proficiency and seven rising third grade students meet proficiency. Um the majority of our students showed growth in foundational reading skills. Um overall 29% of students attending camp were able to reach proficiency which is up from 25% last year. And then we just wanted to share with you guys a few pictures. We also, like Miss Martin talked about, we had math science come to do some fun activities with our kiddos. There was a hoverboard involved and that was the talk of the day. Um, you'll notice these are some of our interns and some of our instructional assistants working with students as they're learning about the different
060science concepts that we talked about. And then again, these are some of our kiddos in art. Kind of what Miss Bechum talked about with what they're learning in class. They're able to reinforce when they go to those enhancements. Um there is the hoverboard in the middle picture and then that's one of our high school interns doing an experiment with them. So it's really nice to see high school interns and others going into the teaching profession and letting them have those opportunities to be in with the kids and the kids love it too. I'm going to pretend like I'm not going to break this. So, my name is Allison Pototts. I'm a separate setting third through fifth grade teacher at Pine Brook Elementary. And I've had the pleasure of directing um our exceptional children's camp the
061past three years. Um it was open this year to extensions content. And we had two elementary schools, two middle schools, and the high school. This year was held at Pound Brook Elementary. Um we did have to cut it back from our 12-day program to a six-day program. Uh we had it by the sea themed. We use unique learning for the kids. Um we have about 11 students weekly. Um four certified staff members and three classified staff members. The importance of this camp, I really want you to look at the pictures that are presented here. Um we have soaring eagle students sitting with a K2 student teaching him how to stack cups. We have another Soaring Eagle student sitting with a middle school teacher or middle school student also presenting cups and stacking them. And then
062we have our lovely Miss Evans at the bottom. Um, we were going to have a water day and of course we chose the hottest day of the year and the kids protested and like it's too hot. So we had a beach ball party in the gym and it was fantastic. Good evening again. Um, we had 10 students that took advantage of our internship program over the summer. Um, and just to kind of explain a little bit difference between an internship and a pre-apprenticeship that we talked about earlier, I like to think of it as an internship is kind of a you think you want to do that career, but you're not quite sure. So, you may explore. We do um honors and regular level. So, our students that completed the internships uh this summer did
063135 hours. your pre-apprenticeship goes in more in depth with an educational component to it and it's also ha has that um tuition waiver through an apprenticeship added onto it. So those are the students that yes, I'm going to do this career. That's that's my game plan. Um so our summer internship program started a couple years ago. Uh we still have a strong partnership with Ashley Furniture. Um and they do an internship with their automation lab. And then as mentioned earlier, we had several students at our read to achieve camp, but we also worked with our maintenance department and we had a student that uh worked to uh learn more about electrical. Um we had a student at Central Davyy uh preschool and then we had one um with um Jeremy at transportation and this student
064loved it so much that I had to convince Jeremy not to um hold him and hire him right then. and let him finish high school, but we started meeting today about a pre-apprenticeship for him. Um, so he he wants that to be his career and so we're working towards that. We also partnered with the Humane Society and Mossville Concrete Company and then Pro Refrigeration we continue to partner with. And then here are some pictures of our interns. Um in the top corner, Sam, he is a mason masonry um concentrator and so he was able to use what he learned in our masonry shop to go to work for Moxville concrete. And then our engineering students through Mr. Mars classes. Um our three interns at Mville Elementary School have taken our um classes with Miss Steinhower.
065Um Alice in the bottom, she completed um the early childhood education program. Caleb and um Alex at the top were um Davy County Schools and then the bottom um is um McKenzie at the um Humane Society. All right, apologize for the technical difficulties that we had. I'm going to go back to that very first slide again. Um these are the numbers that I was talking about earlier. So we had a total of 38 staff members and 157 students that were involved in all of those summer programs. And then again our kinder camps on top of that we had 142 students and the two to three staff per school um at those. And I also want to point out I mentioned um Neban Foundation continues to support our kinder camps. Um our read to achieve camp
066was funded by state state state legislated um as well and camp discovery and steam boot camp. We had support from the Davy Community Foundation um grants for those as well as student fees and then the exceptional children's camp um had donations as well as student fees. Do you have any questions? >> Not a question, but again a comment of so many things going on that we typically just don't think about programs in the summer and all these things that you guys are involved in. And so you make a difference and thank you all of you. >> Thank you. >> Any questions, comments? Okay. >> All right. Madame council, anyone signed up to publicly address the board? >> Ladies and gentlemen, there's no one signed up to address us formally, although I suspect you'll hear from
067many people informally. >> Amen. Okay. With that being said, is there a motion to adjourn? That's all we have on our agenda tonight. There a motion. Stephanie makes a motion. Jeff seconds. All in favor? Meeting adjourned. Thank you so much.